Ratchet screwdrivers are commonly known in the prior art, and they have a handle with a control cap for positioning their pawls and thereby selectively establish the driving direction of the screwdriver. The mechanics of mounting and retaining the caps on the handles is a concern, and there are different arrangements for accomplishing that. Thus, the caps are mounted on the handles and are rotatable thereon in both clockwise directions for the selection of the direction of the drive. The desire is to have the cap rotatable, but through a limited amount of a full circle, and to have it releasably positionable in selected positions within the limited circle of its movement, for drive direction selection. Also, the mounting and removal of the cap relative to the handle is of concern.
The present invention addresses the above-mentioned concerns, and it does so with a sturdy and operably reliable arrangement. It provides for three functions of restraining the cap, those are in the axial direction, rotationally positioning the cap in selective operating positions, and limiting the cap against rotation. All three of these functions are achieved by mechanics and a method which is commercially desirable and which meets the strict demands of screwdrivers for use in the medical art. This screwdriver can be readily disassembled for cleaning repair or the like, and it is outstandingly sensitive to the user's desires of setting the cap in the selective positions for driving directions of operation.
Further, the screwdriver of this invention is arranged such that the cap can be readily and easily removed without special tools and without particular skill. A user of the screwdriver can remove the cap quickly and easily, and the cap is otherwise firmly on the base assembly and is stable thereon, and the cap is easily rotated for selecting the desired operative positions, and those selected positions are firmly retained until the next position is selected by the user. The methods of cap assembly, retention, positioning and removal are parts of this invention.
Other objects and advantages will become apparent upon reading the specification in light of the accompanying drawings.